Something amazing happens when you do something completely out of the ordinary that is, for your city, completely new: the naysayers come out of the woodwork. Those of us with vision and ideas have forever been told that our ideas won’t work, we shouldn’t pursue them, and we should spend our time on more practical pursuits. These warnings of wisdom usually come from those who have never taken a risk on anything, let alone been in the ring of innovation. Yet, we let their fears and opinions sink in. We spend time wondering and second guessing our dreams.

It’s super simple for someone who’s never taken a chance on their ideas to shit on yours. It takes no time at all to let your mind react to something that you don’t understand. In fact, we do this all the time. We judge music, food, and people out of ignorance alone.

When we tell people we’re creating a performing arts space that will support local makers but also offer coworking space, most people think it’s awesome. Most people understand the logic behind having a buiding that’s used for multiple things. It’s called “paying the bills.” But every once in awhile someone with limited vision looks at us like we’re circus performers. I watch their face scrunch in agony as they attempt to wrap their brain around something their imagination cannot fathom. And then I do what I’m now calling “the Burke pivot.”

Perhaps it’s my own ego or my unmoving arrogance that our project will be a success. Maybe it’s the countless conversations with actors, musicians, artists, freelancers, developers, designers, and others in Knoxville and larger cities that tells me we’re on to something. Or, at the end of the day, it could be my competitive nature wanting to prove naysayers wrong. Whatever it is, I refuse to be intimidated by others’ lack of vision, and I’ve taken to saying, “You’ll just have to see it to understand it.”

I’m tired of seeing artists, creatives, and innovative thinkers told to hush up. I’m tired of reading that we’re educating the creativity out of children. And I’m really fed up with the look of horror from folks who just don’t get it. So for now, I’m going to keep pursuing my crazy wacky ideas. I’m going to continue to support those who have dreams and goals beyond a typical office job. And I’m going to encourage artists and makers to keep creating beauty. The world needs our innovation, our voices, and our unyielding energy.

I have no clue where the summer went. It’s been a flurry of activity and all I know is I’m hella ready for fall. Despite my heat-induced memory loss, here are three awesome things in pipeline for fall.

The Moving Theatre presents The Boor

This one has caused a great deal of excitement and fear at the same time. I don’t consider myself a “designer” per se but I was asked to be part of a really cool concept combining theatre, art, music and fashion. In addition to dressing the male actors (major thanks to my mom for taking on this part of it), I’ll also be dressing three models in custom dresses. I’ve learned though, mostly through my own thinking the past month is that we’re all creative geniuses, we just don’t believe it.

Online Sewing Classes

My partner in most things recommended that I turn my sewing classes into online content, and the more I considered it the more I think it’s a great idea. Everyone is busy, including me. An online class gives beginners the opportunity to learn from the comfort of their home and allows me scheduling flexibility. I’ll still be teaching “live” classes this fall, but my online content will be there to supplement that instruction. I’ll be launching my first group of online classes mid-September.

Modern Studio

After an incredibly successful crowdfunding round (we raised $7500!) our deposit has been made and our lease has been signed. We’re waiting for the City of Knoxville to approve our plan and then renovation begins on our building. This is where those live sewing classes will be held, in addition to theatre, music, workshops, support groups, and daytime coworking. It’s an amazingly huge project but we’re getting closer and closer each day.

This has already been an incredible year. My counseling business is booming, so much so that I just hired an employee to help me with the workload. Modern Seamstress is going strong with custom clients & sewing classes, and my new project, Modern Studio, is off to a great start. Somehow I’ve taken to entrepreneurship and not looked back. Despite how awesome it is to set my own schedule and make the tough decisions that need to be made, running businesses as an educated female in the South is a whole other animal.

As most of you know, my partner Victor and I are collaborating on Modern Studio and while we have different roles, we make decisions as a unit. Yesterday we ran into a minor issue with a third party that had the potential to drastically impact our crowdfunding campaign. As CEO (more on that in a bit), I took the lead on resolving the issue: I drafted a very professional email stating the problem and requesting a specific fix.

Women face an interesting bias in the business world. The recipient of my email referred to me as a “pistol.” Had Victor sent the email I doubt he’d have been labeled anything – “Dude, I’m so sorry man. We’ll fix it.” Despite getting the resolution I wanted, it was met with a tone I imagine most women experience when they speak up on behalf of their projects.

Studies show that women make amazing CEOs and business leaders. Just last night a trusted friend & mentor explained that women combine the ability to nurture with the ability to be strong. These two traits combined, it turns out, make for an amazing leader. There’s a reason we decided that I should be labeled CEO — I’m the one naturally able to make quick decisions without emotion taking hold. I’m also less prone to react to peer pressure or fear conflict. That doesn’t mean Victor is any less effective, it simply means that I become less stressed and anxious over the tasks associated with the role.

I founded Modern Seamstress on the goal of empowering women, and I can already see that becoming an important part of Modern Studio. I want to be a role model for young women to encourage them to chase their dreams and not take any shit in the process. I want to hire employers, make a difference in the community, and be the best damn leader I can possibly be.